Automatic emergency control apparatus for stop-valves.



A. KERR. AUTOMATI?) EMERGENCY CONTROL APPARATUS FOR STOP VALVES.

APPLICATION FlLED APR. 11. 193.

Patented May 23, 1916.

ANDREW KERR, OF BELFAST, IRELAND.

AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY CONTROL APPARATUS FOR STOP-VALVES.

Application filed April 11, 1913.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, ANDREW KERR, asubj'ect of the King of Great Britain,residing at Belfast, Ireland, have invented certain new and usefulAutomatic Emergency Control Apparatus for Stop-Valves, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to marine and land power plant installations andhas for its object to provide improved automatic eX- plosion andemergency control mechanism for closing the stop valve or valves.

Under my invention I provide hydraulically operated apparatus forautomatically closing boiler and engine stop valve or valves in theevent of a burst in the pipe lines or in the event of the steam in anyother way accidentally escaping and causing a reduction in pressure inthe steam pipes, the apparatus being also adapted, when required, to actas an emergency hand control mechanism for the stop valves so that theymay be controlled from any desired points in a ship, and in the case ofland work so that they may be controlled from different positions in afactory or other place being supplied with power from a power station.

In order that my invention may be clearly understood 1 have hereuntoappended an eX- planatory sheet of drawings whereon my invention isshown by way of illustration.

Figure 1 is a view showing the arrangement diagrammatically, and Fig. 2is a view of a detail hereinafter referred to.

The portion to the left of the dotted line A. B. Fig. 1 applies to bothmarine and land work and the portion to the right thereof applies toland work only. The relative positions and proportions of the differentparts of the apparatus may not be as shown,

as the grouping and proportions have been adopted for convenience inillustrating the invention.

On the drawings the same reference letters wherever repeated indicatethe same or similar parts.

a is a boiler, Z) a boiler stop valve, 0 an engine stop valve.

0 is a steam pipe leading from the boiler stop valve 5 to the enginestop valve 0.

The control apparatus in accordance with my invention for both marineand land work comprises water tanks cl and e, the tank cZ being placedat a suitable height above the level of the cylinder 71 to insure thepipe lines it and a remaining full of water, the tank cl,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 2?, 1916.

Serial No. 760,342.

being also a suitable distance below the level of the tank 6 and bothtanks placed in a conyenlent position, the tank e being preferably n theboiler room and the tank (3 preferably in the englne room andconveniently situated in the engine room I provide a hydrau- 11ccylinder f and to the rear of the piston f therein a supply of waterunder pressure is provided by means of a pipe line 9 carried up to asuitable height to obtain the desired head ofwater, the water beingobtained by condenslng steam in a coil 9 the steam being obtained fromthe engine stop valve 0, through a cock which is capable of being lockedopen, and pipe 9 to the coil 9 The top g of the coil 9 must be disposedat such a height above the water level X. X. in the boiler a as willgive a pressure in excess to the working drop in the pipe g. A supply ofwater at boiler pressure is led from the water space in the boiler bythe pipes h and 71} to the front of the piston f in the cylinder 7, thewater being supplied to the pipe h through a non-return valve 72, in thewater space of the boiler, said valve if being adapted to be locked inthe open position. The pistonf is connected with and adapted to operatea valve 70 of convenient form which controls communication between thepipe h and the pipe line h leading to the top of a cylinder 2'. Thecylinder 71 is conveniently supported close to the stop valve 6, thepiston i in the cylinder 2' being connected by a rod 2' with levers jfulcrumed at j on-the rod j conveniently supported near the stop valve6. The lever is also pivotally connected at j with the valve spindle 6of the stop valve 6 the connection being made to crosshead j having part7' projecting into a socket j in the screwed spindle j connected to thehandle j the arrangement being such that the levers j can operate thevalve spindle 6 independently of the hand gear i and when required thelatter is also instantly ready for use. A pipe line Z leads from thebottom of the tank e to the rear of the piston 71 in the cylinder 2'.The slide valve 70 controls a port m into a cylinder on in which apiston valve m (with holes therein to allow water to'pass to either sidethereof and place the piston in equilibrium) is provided under controlof a hand lever m.

The piston valve m is normally open as shown in the drawings and is heldin open position by the catch m engaging in a notch in a quadrant m", sothat when the valve is uncovers the port m as hereinafter explainedthere is clear passage for the water from the boiler through the port mcylinder 172, port m to the pipe line h From the pipe line it a pipe atleads to one end of a non-return valve 0 and from the other end of saidvalve a pipe line p leads to the tank d, the pipe 3) being preferablyledinto the tank (Z as shown at p to prevent grit and dirt entering thepipe line 2), the other water pipes being similarly led into theirrespective tanks. The valve 0 is normally held open by gravity orgravity assisted by a light spring, and it is shut by boiler pres surein the pipe at when the valve is is opened as hereinafter described, andit may be opened by hand when desired by means of the lever 0 when thevalve wa is shut and so relieve the pressure on the top of the piston 2'and allow the difference in head of water between tanks (Z and e toraise the piston 11 for the purpose of opening the valve 6, assisted bythe steam pressure behind same.

The pipe line 9 in a marine installation would preferably be carriedalong the tunnels, around the stoke hold, alley ways, captains room andelsewhere as desired and any required number of cocks 9 provided thereinto act as emergency control valves so that as hereinafter explained thestop valves may be shut down by means of any of the cooks g whichwouldbe inclosed in boxes with instructions on outside of box.

The cock 9 is provided in the pipe line g at or near the engine room andit is intended mainly for shutting down the valve 6 hydraulically byhand when required. In order to prevent thepossibility of the cock 9being left open to atmosphere when the valve 6 is opened again, Iprovide a link g connected at one end 9 through the medium of a slot 9and a pin with the hand lever m* and at its other end it is connected toa lever 9 for operating the cock 9, the arrangement being such that whenthe valve 6 is opened as hereinafter described the moving over of thelever m automatically closes the cock 9 to the atmosphere so that thepipe line 9 will be again ready for the restoration of the pressure headof water behind the piston f thus placing the apparatus again incondition for action when required. As the head of water in the pipeline 9 requires to be such as will give a pressure in excess of theworking drop, 75.6. the drop in pressure which may take place due to anyusual racing of the engines, I preferably provide means for adjustingthe head of water in the pipe line 9. The adjusting means may take theform shown at Fig. 1 of the drawings where it will be seen that theportion g", g is slidably carried within the lower portion of the pipeg. An alternative method of adjusting the length of the pipe 9, 9, 9 isshown at Fig. 2 in which case it will be observed that the pipe 9 can bereadily pulled out or pushed in to give the desired head. 7

For land work I provide an emergency apparatus comprising auxiliarytanks r and s to contain some suitable non-freezing fluid. The tank r isplaced at a suitable height above the tank 8 and I providea cylinder tand from the tank 1" a pipe line it leads to the rear of a piston 25 inthe cylinder t while a pipe line 4) leads from the tank 8 to the frontof the piston 25 The piston is connected by a rod 25 with a valve tinserted between the pipe line 9 and the cylinder f," and controlling aport f leading into the cylinder f from the valve casing t and capableof putting the port f in communication with a port f leading toatmosphere.

I preferably lead the pipe line a around the various rooms or workshopsand, if necessary, near to individual machines and I provide any numberof cocks 11 in said pipe line whereby it can be put into instantcommunication. with atmosphere so that the pressure in the pipe line isrelieved and the piston t operated so as to close the stop valve b ashereinafter explained and, if desired, as an additional safeguard, I maysimultaneously operate a brake w in connection with the fly-wheel w ofthe engine. For this purpose I provide a cylinder zwith a piston atherein and lead a branch pipe from the pipe line '0 tothe rear of saidpiston and I also lead a branch pipe line a from the pipe 71, to thefront of the piston 2 To enable one size of cylinder 2 to be used forvarying requirements as regards the load, I provide adjusting means 2 onthe rod 2 whereby the load on the brake block may be controlled oradjusted.

In operation the tanks e and (Z are supplied with water by any ordinaryautomatic.

supply arrangement; the non-return valve h is opened and'locked in theopen position; the pipe h between the cock 1L and the valve casing 7& isfilled with water; the pipe b from the pipe h to the port i and the partof the cylinder f in front of the piston f are also filled with water;The pipe line Z from the tank e is filled with water and the portion ofthe cylinder 2' behind the'piston i is also filled with water and thepipe line it from the valve m to the front of the piston el -is alsofilled with water, the pipe lines a and 2) being also filled. The steamcock 9 is then opened and locked in the open position so that steam fromthe pipe line 9 passes to the coil 9? where it is condensed and fillsthe pipe 9, valve casing 25 and the portion of the cylinder f behind thepiston 7, the valve m being in the open position as shown, and heldinthe open position by means of the catch m and notch m and the valve 0 isalso held open by the action of gravity, assisted if desired, by aspring or springs. The apparatus does not in any way interfere with theclosing or opening of the stop valves 6 by the ordinary hand gear andthevalve 6 can be closed by screwing down the spindle j as usual. Thescrewing down of the valve 6 by hand gear is a gradual movement and theconsequent pressure on the piston 2' causes the water in the pipe line Zto be displaced into the tank 6 and a corresponding movement of waterfrom the tank (Z and pipe line p through pipe line it to the front ofthe piston 71 and vice versa when the valve 6 is opened by the handgear.

In the drawings the various parts of the apparatus are shown in theposition they occupy under normal working conditions with the stopvalveb open. When a burst takes place in the pipe line 0 or when fromany other cause the pressure in the pipe line is reduced below theworking drop then the pressure in the pipe line 9 will becorrespondingly reduced so that the pressure at the rear of the piston fin the cylinder f will also be reduced and when this occurs the pressureof water in the pipe line h which is at boiler pressure will force over'the piston f causing it to move the valve la so as to open the port mand allow water to pass freely at boiler pressure from the pipe hthrough the valve cylinder m and as the pressure of water closes thevalve 0 the water passes to the pipe line h and from thence to the topof the piston i in the cylinder z, forcing same downward against thehead of water in the pipe Z. The movement of the piston Z acts on thelevers j and causes a corresponding downward movement of the spindle bto close the valve Z) and thereby shut off the steam supply at theboiler a. The pipe line it may of course connect to any desired numberof cylinders a to operate same and to close a corresponding number ofstop valves. When the necessary repairs have been effected the pressurecan be taken off the top of the piston 2' by closing the port m throughthe medium of the cut off valve m by means of thehand lever m then byopening the valve 0 by hand the water will be free to pass from the pipeline h to the pipe line 79 and owing to the steam pressure on the bottomof the stop valve 7) it will be raised with the assistance of the headof water in the pipe line Z and the piston Z will be forced up and thewater in the pipe line it displaced into the tank (Z until the piston 2'reaches the top of its stroke at which position the stop valve 6 will befull open. When the valve 1) has been opened the pressure in the pipeline 9 will be restored by the passage of steam through the cock 9 sothat when the valve 0 is rein the drawing and ready for the nextbreakdown. The valve 0 can be used to open the valve Z) to any requiredamount by simply holding down the lever 0 and opening the valve 0against the water pressure in pipe at and thereby opening the valve 1)as desired and then releasing the lever 0 when the required opening ofvalve 5 is effected; valve 0 will then be closed again by the waterpressure in the pipe n. The opening of the valve 0 connects the pipelines it and 7) and the greater head in pipe line Z then forces thepiston i upward and so opens the valve 6 as required. The valve 6 may beshut again by opening any of the cooks g to atmosphere and relieving thepressure behind piston f as before described. Operation of the valve 6as above described could be used as an emergency control for the enginesin the event of a breakdown of the engine stop valve or valves. In caseof any emergency in which it may be necessary to shut off steam in thetunnels or at the captains room or elsewhere this can be done 0 valvesor cocks a the pipe line a can be placed in communication withatmosphere and the pressure behind the piston 25 relieved so that thepressure in front of same obtained from the head of water from the tank8 moves the piston 6 over and causes it to move the valve 25 therebyputting the port f into communication with the port which leads toatmosphere and so relieving the pressure behind the piston 7 so that itis moved in the manner hereinbefore described to close the stop valve 6.At the same time the opening of the valve Z: will place the front of thepiston 2 in communication with a supply of water at boiler pressure andwill thereby force the piston .2 to the rear of its cylinder 2 anddisplace the water in the pipe line 2; into the tank 8. This movement ofthe piston 2 will act on the lever 10 in such a way as to cause thebrake block 20 to bear against the fly wheel &0 of the engine and bringit quickly to rest. The emergency apparatus to the right of the dottedline A. B. may also, when required, be adapted to control the supply ofworking fluid or fuel or motive power to steam, gas, oil, or otherengines or motors and to stop same in case of emergency. If desired, Imay provide a pressure gage w on the pipe line 72 whereby at any timethe pressure in the pipe line it can be ascertained. This will indicateif the valves Z) are full open by registering the normal workingpressure in pipe line n. An air cock i is preferably provided at the topof the cylinder i for the escape of the air when the pipe lines h, 22,are being filled with water and similarly an air cock is preferablyprovided at the top of the pipe for the escape of air when the pipe isfilling after being connected up.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is l. The combination with a. steam generatorhaving a steam supply pipe in communication with the steam spacethereof, and a stop valve in the pipe, of an emergency control apparatuscomprising, a cylinder connected with the generator and supply pipe, apiston in said cylinder interposed between said connections, a vesselcontaining fluid at a pressure lower than that within the generator, avalve casing connected with the pressure generator, a valve in saidcasing connected with said piston, a second cylinder connected with saidvalve casing and with said vessel, a second piston in said secondcylinder connected with the stop valve and interposed between saidconnections, means whereby when the pressure in the supply pipe fallsbelow that in the generator the movement of the first piston occasionedthereby operates said valve in its casing and connects the secondcylinder with the generator thereby causing said second piston to closethe stop valve and means whereby said valve may be operated to cut offthe supply of pressure fluid from the generator to the second cylinderand thereby allow the pressure fluid from said vessel to act upon thesecond piston and cause same to re-open the stop valve.

2. The combination with a steam generator having a steam supply pipe incommunication with the steam space thereof, and a stop valve in thepipe, of a hydraulically operated emergency control apparatuscomprising, a cylinder, a piston therein, con motion between the waterspace of the generator and the cylinder on one side of the piston,connection. between the steam supply pipe and the cylinder on the otherside of the piston, means inserted in the second mentioned connection tocondense steam from the steam supply pipe and allow the water ofcondensation to exert a pressure in the cylinder normally in excess ofthe water pressure therein on the other side of the piston, and meansadapted to be set in operation by the movement of the piston occasionedby a fall of pressure in the steam pipe below the pressure in thegenerator to effect the closure of the stop valve. 7,

3. The combination with a steam generator having a steam supply pipe incommunication with the steam space thereof, and a stop valve in thepipe, of a hydraulically operated emergency control apparatuscomprising, a cylinder, a piston therein, connection between the waterspace of the generator and the cylinder on one side of the piston,connection between the steam supply pipe and the cylinder on the otherside of the piston, means inserted in the second mentioned connection tocondense steam from the steam supply pipe and allow the water ofcondensation to exert a pressure in the cylinder normally in excess ofthe water pressure therein on the other side of the piston said meansbeing capable of adjustment to vary the level of water of condensationand the pressure in the cylinder caused thereby, and means adapted to beset in operation by the movement of the piston occasioned by a fall ofpressure in the steam pipe below the pressure in the generator to effectthe closure of valve.

4. The combination with a steam generator having a steam supply pipe incommunication with the steam space thereof, and a stop valve in thepipe, of a hydraulically operated emergency control apparatus comprising, a cylinder, a piston therein, connection between thewater spaceof the generator and the cylinder on one side of the pis ton, connectionbetween the steam supply pipe and the cylinder on the other side of thepiston, means inserted in the second mentioned connection to condensesteam from the steam supply pipe and allow the water of condensation toexert a pressure in the cylinder normallyin excess of the water pressuretherein on the other side of the piston. means whereby the pressurecreated by the water of condensation can be adjusted, a vesselcontaining water having a pressure head less than the pressure withinthe generator, a second vessel containing water having a pressure headless that the head of water within the first vessel, a second cylinder,a second piston therein and connected with the stop valve, 1neansconneeting the second cylinder with both water vessels so that thedifference in pressures therein maintains the stop valve normally openand whereby when the pressure in the supply pipe falls below thepressure in the generator the movement of the first piston occasionedthereby causes the water supply the stop from the second water vessel tothe second cylinder to he cut off and a connection made between thegenerator and the second cylinder, thereby overcoming the water pressureof the first water vessel and causing the second piston to close thestop valve.

5. The combination with a steam generator having a steam supply pipe incommuni cation with the steam space thereof, and a stop valve in thepipe of an emergency control apparatus comprising, a cylinder connectedwith the generator, an auxiliary valve device connected with thecylinder, the supply pipe and the atmosphere and normally adapted toconnect the cylinder with the supply pipe, a piston in said cylinderinterposed between said generator and valve device connections, meanswhereby when the pressure in the supply falls below the pressure in thegenerator the movement of the piston occasioned thereby causes the stopvalve to cut oil the steam supply to the supply pipe, an auxiliarycylinder, a piston in said cylinder connected with the auxiliary valvedevice, two water tanks having different pressure heads and connectedone to each end of the auxiliary cylinder so as to maintain the pistontherein normally in a position to maintain a connection between thecylinder and the supply pipe and means whereby the end of the auxiliarycylinder normally connected with the water tank having the higherpressure head may be placed in communication with the atmosphere therebycausing the piston therein to be moved and operate the auxiliary valvedevice to close the connection between the cylinder and the supply pipeand open the cylinder supply pipe connection to the atmosphere.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ANDREWV KERR.

Vitnesses ANDREW HA'MILTON, HARRY WALTER ALLsoPP.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

